The Des Moines Police Department said it is searching for men and women who will protect and serve the city for years to come.

The department put up "Help Wanted" signs throughout central Iowa on Tuesday night.

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"We're going to advertise nationally, but we're going to push in our community. And we want an applicant pool reflective of the diversity in the city of Des Moines," Sgt. Chris Scott said.

Budget cuts and officer retirements will leave the force short-staffed if qualified candidates aren't found, but Scott said that seems unlikely given the struggling economy.

"Unfortunately, people are out there looking for jobs right now. But this isn't one of those jobs where you apply today and get hired tomorrow. There's a long process to it. It starts with the application, to physical testing, written tests, polygraph and interviews," Scott said.

Then comes 22 weeks of police academy, and graduation is followed by several months of field training and one year of probationary officer status.

"We currently have about 260 applicants. It would be nice to have about 500 applicants," Scott said.

The next recruit class will only contain about 15 to 30 members, and Scott said finding the right person is essential, especially with so many veteran officers prepared to retire.

"In various locations of the department, even some of our supervisors are going to be stepping down. So there's going to be a lot of movement going on down here," Scott said.

DMPD said applications have to be submitted by Dec. 1, and testing starts Dec. 14.